Method and apparatus of building construction

ABSTRACT

A prefabricated frame building. The outer walls of the building are secured to the roof and foundation together by eye-bolts and catches forming the outer perimeter walls. The eye-bolt is secured to the top and bottom end of one of the outer walls and roof section which is lockingly engaged with the catch secured to the top and bottom end of the other outer walls and roof section. The outer walls are mounted upon a concrete foundation which has a pair of eye-bolts mounted thereon which are engaged with a pair of catches secured to the bottom ends of the outer walls. Each outer wall and roof section includes a plurality of panels secured together by a plurality of tongue assemblies. Each wall and/or roof tongue assembly includes a plurality of bolts extending interiorly of the building having blocks mounted thereon as needed. The floor joists thereby transmit load from the floor via the bolts into the tongue assembly and walls. Insulation is provided within the outer walls and roof sections plus within the tongue assemblies.

United States Patent [191 Eoxworthy [475] Jan. 21, 1975 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION [76] Inventor: Herbert E. Eoxworthy,11932 Forest La., Carmel, Ind. 46032 22 Filed: Jan. 28, 1974 21 Appl.No.: 437,232

[52] US. Cl. 52/90 [51] Int. Cl E04b H48 [58] Field of Search 52/57, 82,90, 262, 270,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,203,145 8/1965 Raynes52/90 X 3,335,536 8/1967 MeCord 52/593 X 3,640,043 2/1972 Querfeld et al52/274 X 3,646,716 3/1972 Jenner 52/90 Primary ExaminerJ. Karl BellAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodard, Weikart, Emhardt & Naughton [57]ABSTRACT A prefabricated frame building. The outer walls of the buildingare secured to the roof and foundation together by eye-bolts and catchesforming the outer pcrimeter walls. The eye-bolt is secured to the topand bottom end of one of the outer walls and roof section which islockingly engaged with the catch secured to the top and bottom end ofthe other outer walls and roof section. The outer walls are mounted upona con crete foundation which has a pair of eye-bolts mounted thereonwhich are engaged with a pair of catches secured to the bottom ends ofthe outer walls. Each outer wall and roof section includes a pluralityof panels secured together by a plurality of tongue assemblies. Eachwall and/or roof tongue assembly includes a plurality of bolts extendinginteriorly of the building having blocks mounted thereon as needed. Thefloor joists thereby transmit load from the floor via the bolts into thetongue assembly and walls. lnsulation is provided within the outer wallsand roof sections plus within the tongue assemblies.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJ I975 3.86 1 D95 sum 2 or 5PATENTED JANZI I975 SHEEI 3 BF 3 FIG. 7

METHOD AND APPARATUS OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field ofbuilding construction; and more specifically, prefabricated buildingconstruction with constant temperature and air circulation relating incontributory energy and operating reduction.

2. Description of the Prior Art A number of U.S. patents have beengranted on various types of constructions which include prefabricatedwalls having tongue and groove arrangements. A representative sample ofthe prior art is shown in the following US. Pat. Nos.

2,341,757 issued to Brenneman;

2,782,463 issued to Bergvall;

3,177,618 issued to Jacob;

3,490,187 issued to Stauffer; and,

3,712,015 issued to Nelson.

The prefabricated building construction disclosed herein has severalmajor advantages over the prior art. First, the outer walls and roofsections forming the frame construction are secured together by a gatecatch and eye-bolt secured to the top ends of the outer walls and roof.The outer walls are first located in position and then contactedtogether providing for the automatic engagement of the eye-bolt and gatecatch. Once the eye-bolt and catch are secured together, the outer wallsand roof are permanently locked together since the catch is unaccessibleand may not be unlocked. Likewise, the outer walls are secured to aconcrete foundation by a similar eye-bolt and catch arrangement therebyproviding for the quick and easy erection of the main frame of thebuilding.

Each outer wall and roof section is constructed from a plurality ofpanels secured together by tongue assemblies. Each panel includes a pairof walls spaced apart by insulation into which a tongue assembly extendsthereby securing the panels together. The tongue assembly isparticularly advantageous as compared to the prior art devices in thatthe assembly transmits floor loading into the outer walls. In addition,the tongue assemblies allow for the relatively easy assembly of thepanels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention is abuilding structure comprising a first main wall including a first pairof spaced apart parallel walls and a second pair of spaced apartparallel walls, the first pair of walls including insulationtherebetween, the second pair of walls including insulation therebetweenwith the second pair of walls being aligned and parallel with the firstpair of walls, a tongue assembly fitted into and securing the first pairand the second pair together, the tongue assembly including a projectionextending outwardly of the first pair and the second pair and forming aseat, the tongue assembly including a plate through which the projectionextends, the plate being slidably fitted into and securing the firstpair and the second pair together, and a floor mounted upon the seat.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedbuilding construction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide building panelssecured together by a tongue assembly.

ject of the present invention is to provide industrial,

commercial, residential and A-frame buildings having outer wallsmountable upon a foundation with the outer walls secured together and tothe foundation by means of an eye-bolt and latch combination.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary end view of anA-frame building incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top end ofouter wall 11 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top end ofouter wall 12 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged cross sectional view taken along theline 44 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken along theline 55 of FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 6 is across sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 andviewed in the direction of the arrows.

' FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6and viewed in the direction of the arrows using A-frame design assample.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting anunderstanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now bemade to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific languagewill be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understoodthat no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended,such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device,and such further applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to onlythe inventor, who is skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown an A-framebuilding 10 having a pair of outer walls 11 and 12 secured together andmounted respectively upon concrete foundations l3 and 14. Outer wall 11(FIG. 2) has a pair of spaced apart and parallel walls 15 and 16 withinsulation 17 positioned therebetween. Likewise, outer wall 12 (FIG. 3)has a pair of spaced apart and parallel walls 18 and 19 with insulation20 positioned therebetween.

The top end 21 of outer wall 11 is provided with an eye-bolt 22 fixedlysecured to block 23 spacing walls 15 and 16 apart. Likewise, the top end24 of wall 12 is provided with a gate latch assembly 25 fixedly securedto wall 26 mounted between spacing blocks 27 and 28. Walls 18 and 19 aresecured to blocks 27 and 28. Top end 21 is complementary to top end 24thereby allowing walls 11 and 12 to mate in the configuration of an A asshown in FIG. I. Eye-bolt 22 is positioned so as to pass into gap 29 oflatch 25. A movable arm 30 is pivotally mounted to the gate latch andnormally closes gap 29. Any pressure exerted into gap 29 exterior to arm30 is an automatic engagement. String 31 extends through block 26 and isattached to member 30 if used. Thus, by pulling on string 31, arm 30 iscaused to pivot thereby allowing arm 30 to release eye-bolt 22. Byreleasing string 31, arm 30 then locks the eye-bolt within the catch 25thereby preventing walls 11 and 12 from becoming disengaged.

Best results have been obtained by positioning eyebolt 22 at an angle offrom the longitudinal axis between wall 11 and wall 12. This is, angle32 (FIG. 4) is approximately 10 and is formed between axis 34 and 33.Axis 33 extends centrally through eye-bolt 22 whereas axis 34 isparallel to walls and 16.

The bottom ends 35 and 36 of walls 11 and 12 are secured to foundations13 and 14 by means of an eye-bolt and gate latch combination similar tothat previously described for securing the top ends of walls 11 and 12together. A pair of latches 37 and 38 (FIG. 1) are mounted to the bottomends 35 and 36 of walls 11 and 12 whereas eye-bolts 39 and 38 aremounted to foundations 13 and 14. The eye-bolts project perpendicularlytoward walls 11 and 12.

Each outer wall 11 and 12 includes a plurality of panels securedtogether by a plurality of tongue assemblies. Wall 11 will now bedescribed it being understood that a similar description applies to wall12. Wall 11 includes a plurality of panel assemblies, two of which areshown in FIGS. 5 and 6 as panel assemblies 41 and 42. Each panelassembly includes the pair of walls 15 and 16 spaced apart by woodenspacing members 43 and insulation 44. Tongue assembly 45 secures panelassemblies 41 and 42 together.

Tongue assembly 45 includes two walls 46 and 47 mounted together withinsulation 48 extending therebetween. A pair of metal plates 49 and 55are provided within the tongue assembly. Plate 55 is located immediatelyinward and adjacent wall 46 whereas plate 49 is positioned approximatelymidway between walls 46 and 47. A pair of gaps 50 and 51 are providedwithin blocks 52 and 56 and slidably receive the opposite ends of plate49. Thus, panels 41 and 42 are secured together by the friction existingbetween blocks 52 and 56 and plate 49. Likewise, blocks 52 and 56 arepositioned inwardly from the adjacent ends 53 and 54 of panel assemblies41 and 42 thereby allowing for the positioning of the tongue assemblywithin the two panel assemblies. Friction also exists between wall 47and wall 15 and between wall 46 and wall 16.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross section of the tongue assembly. In additionto the pair of metal plates 49 and 55 which are parallel, the tongueassembly includes a pair of metal tubes 60 and 61 with opposite bevelededges fixedly secured to plates 49 and 55. Tubes 60 and 61 extendhorizontally whereas plates 49 and 55 extend upwardly in the directionof wall 11. A pair of threaded bolts 62 and 63 extend through plates 49and 55 and tubes 60 and 61. The headed ends of bolts 62 and 63 arepositioned within wall 11 so as to abut against plate 49 and wall 47.Tube 80 fits between the headed bolt ends and plate 49. The oppositethreaded ends of bolts 62 and 63 extend through a pair of blocks 64 and65. Each block is provided with a hollow cavity 66 in which a pair oftubes 67 are positioned. Blocks 64 and 65 extend horizontally througheach cavity 66 forming a stop 68 against which tubes 67 abut. Theopposite ends of tubes 67 are beveled and abut against plate 55. The topsurface 70 of block 64 forms a seat upon which the floor 71 may bemounted. Likewise, a bottom surface of block provides a surface uponwhich ceiling 72 may be mounted. Tubes 67 contact nuts 75.

A three ply laminated wall 73 is secured to the ends 74 of blocks 64 and65 thereby concealing the fastening nuts 75 threaded onto the ends ofbolts 62 and 63. A tongue assembly identical to the tongue assemblypreviously described is provided for wall 12 for securing floor 71 andceiling 72. Likewise, a pair of blocks and 81 (FIG. 1) are provided inthe tongue assembly in a manner similar to blocks 64 and 65.

Many variations are contemplated and included in the present invention.For example, in the embodiment of the A-frame building shown in FIG. 1,angle 82 which is the included angle between walls 11 and 12 is 60however, the included angle 82 may be greater than or less than 60. Asufficient amount of tongue assemblies securing the panels of each outerwall together are provided so as to adequately support floor 71.Likewise, a sufficient number of latches and eyebolts are provided atthe top end and bottom end of walls 11 and 12 to secure walls 11 and 12together and to foundations l3 and 14. The floor loading from floor 71is transmitted directly through the threaded bolts into the plates andeventually to outer walls 11 and 12.

It will be obvious from the above description that the present inventionprovides a new and improved building construction. It will also beobvious from the above description that the present invention providesan A- frame construction including means for automatically locking theouter walls together and to the foundation. Likewise, it will be obviousfrom the above description that the present invention provides means forsecuring a plurality of wall panels together and for transmitting floorloading to the outer walls of the building.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. A building structure comprising:

a first main wall including a first pair of spaced apart parallel wallsand a second pair of spaced apart parallel walls;

said first pair of walls including insulation therebetween, said secondpair of walls including insulation therebetween with said second pair ofwalls being aligned with said first pair of walls; tongue assemblyfitted into and securing said first pair and said second pair together,said tongue assembly including a projection extending outwardly of saidfirst pair and said second pair and forming a seat, said tongue assemblyincluding a plate through which said projection extends, said platebeing slidably fitted into and securing said first pair and said secondpair together; and,

a floor mounted upon said seat.

2. The building structure of claim 1 and further comprising:

a second main wall secured to said first main wall, said first main wallhaving a movable catch mounted thereon with said second main wall havingan eye-bolt secured thereto being lockingly engaged with said catch.

3. The building structure of claim 2 wherein:

said tongue assembly includes a second plate spaced apart from andparallel to said first plate, said assembly further includes a tubefixedly secured to said first and second plate, said projection is athreaded bolt extending through said first and second plate and saidtube.

4. The building structure of claim 3 wherein:

said tongue assembly further includes two walls between which said firstand second plate are positioned and mounted, said two walls are slidablyfitted between said first pair of walls and between said second pair ofwalls, said tongue assembly further includes a block mounted upon saidbolt with said seat located on said block.

5. The building structure of claim 4 and further comprising:

a concrete foundation having a second eye-bolt mounted thereon, saidfirst main wall having a second movable catch thereon lockinglyengageable with said second eye-bolt securing said first main wall tosaid foundation.

6. The building structure of claim 5 wherein:

said first main wall and said second main wall abut each other at anangle less than 90 forming an A- frame building.

7. A tongue assembly for securing a first wall and a second parallelwall comprising:

a pair of spaced apart and parallel panels secured together with saidpanels projecting into said first wall and second wall;

a first plate located immediately inward of one of said panels;

a second plate positioned between said panels and secured to said firstplate;

a tube extending between and securing together said first plate and saidsecond plate; and,

a threaded member extending through said tube, said first plate and saidsecond plate, said threaded member having a headed end abutting saidsecond plate and a threaded end projecting outwardly of said panels.

8. The tongue assembly of claim 7 and further comprising:

a block having a first hollow chamber with a stop at one end throughwhich said threaded member extends; and,

a second tube within said chamber surrounding said member and abuttingagainst said first plate and against said stop.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIGN Patent No- 3 861O95 January 21 1975 Herbert El Foxworthv It is certified that errorappears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

Please change the inventor's name from "Eoxwo rthy" to --Foxworthyinboth the heading of the patent and also by number [76] on the same pageSigned and sealed this 17th day of June 1975 (SEAL) Attest C. IARSHALLDANN Commissioner of-Patents and Trademarks RUTH C. MASON AttestingOfficer

1. A building structure comprising: a first main wall including a firstpair of spaced apart parallel walls and a second pair of spaced apartparallel walls; said first pair of walls including insulationtherebetween, said second pair of walls including insulationtherebetween with said second pair of walls being aligned with saidfirst pair of walls; a tongue assembly fitted into and securing saidfirst pair and said second pair together, said tongue assembly includinga projection extending outwardly of said first pair and said second pairand forming a seat, said tongue assembly including a plate through whichsaid projection extends, said plate being slidably fitted into andsecuring said first pair and said second pair together; and, a floormounted upon said seat.
 2. The building structure of claim 1 and furthercomprising: a second main wall secured to said first main wall, saidfirst main wall having a movable catch mounted thereon with said secondmain wall having an eye-bolt secured thereto being lockingly engagedwith said catch.
 3. The building structure of claim 2 wherein: saidtongue assembly includes a second plate spaced apart from and parallelto said first plate, said assembly further includes a tube fixedlysecured to said first and second plate, said projection is a threadedbolt extending through said first and second plate and said tube.
 4. Thebuilding structure of claim 3 wherein: said tongue assembly furtherincludes two walls between which said first and second plate arepositioned and mounted, said two walls are slidably fitted between saidfirst pair of walls and between said second pair of walls, said tongueassembly further includes a block mounted upon said bolt with said seatlocated on said block.
 5. The building structure of claim 4 and furthercomprising: a concrete foundation having a second eye-bolt mountedthereon, said first main wall having a second movable catch thereonlockingly engageable with said second eye-bolt securing said first mainwall to said foundation.
 6. The building structure of claim 5 wherein:said first main wall and said second main wall abut each other at anangLe less than 90* forming an A-frame building.
 7. A tongue assemblyfor securing a first wall and a second parallel wall comprising: a pairof spaced apart and parallel panels secured together with said panelsprojecting into said first wall and second wall; a first plate locatedimmediately inward of one of said panels; a second plate positionedbetween said panels and secured to said first plate; a tube extendingbetween and securing together said first plate and said second plate;and, a threaded member extending through said tube, said first plate andsaid second plate, said threaded member having a headed end abuttingsaid second plate and a threaded end projecting outwardly of saidpanels.
 8. The tongue assembly of claim 7 and further comprising: ablock having a first hollow chamber with a stop at one end through whichsaid threaded member extends; and, a second tube within said chambersurrounding said member and abutting against said first plate andagainst said stop.